by Raathi Chota
“How many times did he…” Keene trailed off.
“Only once…the rest was harassing,” I mumbled.
“Why didn’t you just stop taking the pills?”
“I don’t know; I just wanted to get away from everything…from everyone. I didn’t mean to hurt the people I cared for.”
“It’s not your fault, Lana,” he said, then looked over his shoulder at Levi and Blake. “It’s ours; we did this to you.”
“No, it’s my fault. You guys just wanted to show me the fun side of life. I took advantage of it and did all this shit.”
“Lana, we’ve all done things we’ve regretted.”
“Yeah, and I’ll always hate myself for that,” I stated. Another snowball was thrown at the window. Levi and Blake’s heads popped up as they squinted at the two of us.
“When you two are done boning, we’d like to play,” Levi yelled as he looked at the position Keene and I were in. Keene flipped him off as I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked my arms around his neck. He gave me a piggyback ride all the way out to the backyard.
“Shit, it’s cold,” he grumbled as his grip tightened. Out of nowhere, a snowball was thrown at us. I looked up to see Levi and Blake were on the other side.
“Take cover!” I yelled as they threw snowballs. Keene ran as I used my one hand to hold on and the other to dodge the snow. He stopped behind a tree and put me down. In unison, we glanced around the tree and realized they’d built a fort. “They’re so childish. Why can’t we go inside and drink some hot cocoa?” I asked as we turned back to lean on the tree.
“Actions speak louder than words,” Keene stated, then crouched down to make snowballs. I raised a brow because Blake said the same thing.
“Are you guys up to something?” I asked.
“Nope, just having fun.” He grinned, then dragged his fingers in the snow. “Suck on these balls, dipshits!” he yelled, then threw the ball toward their fort. I watched as Levi raised his head to see and, on cue, the ball hit him right in the face. Keene and I laughed as Levi groaned. My hands froze throughout the game. Keene ran off to get closer to their fort. Out the corner of my eye, I saw Blake. I locked eyes with him as I roughly dragged my hands through the snow.
“There you are, nerd.” He smirked and raised his arm. Using all my strength, I threw the snowball at him. It hit him directly in the face, and he staggered back. He dropped the snowball in his hand and wiped the snow off his face. My eyes widened as I watched the snow mixed with dirt fall from his face. I got up and walked over to him as he continuously rubbed his eye.
“Are you okay?” I laughed as he cleaned his face.
“Next time, make sure you know what you’re throwing at me.” He gestured to his eyes which were red. “Because I don’t remember having stones in snowballs.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m sorry.” I snickered.
“You don’t look sorry.” He crouched down and made another snowball. I did the same thing and made sure to only use snow. As I stood up, Blake marched toward me, wrapped his arm around my waist, then dumped the snowball on top of my head.
“It’s cold!” I shrieked as I wrapped my one arm around him. Using the same hand, I pulled his jeans and threw the snowball down his butt.
“Fuck!” he yelled as I squirmed out of his hold and ran away. “I’m coming for you!”
“Dude, that’s sounds so wrong in that tone!” Levi said as he walked to the other side.
“Shut the fuck up,” Blake exclaimed. I ran toward their fort since they weren’t there. I found snowballs stacked up ready to be used, and I smiled.
“Every man for himself!” Levi yelled.
“That’s not fair. She’s got all the balls,” Keene shouted as I threw them.
“Yep, I got all the balls!” I laughed as I threw at Levi. They shouted and ran around for cover. They darted toward the tree, but it was no use since they were three six-foot guys. I laughed as Keene and Blake pushed Levi in front of them and used him for cover.
***
The next few days we got ready for Christmas. I baked all my cinnamon rolls while Mom and Jade took care of the food. Dad and Richard went out to a hockey game, then got scolded by their wives because they were supposed to get ingredients. Levi, Blake, Carter, Ethan, and Keene oddly hung out with me, yet when I asked them why, they’d say the same thing: Actions speak louder than words. Benny and I went out to a cooking session where we cooked for the homeless shelters, and we had so much fun. Afterward, we spent the rest of the day there and gave out food.
It was now Christmas Eve, and I stood in front of my mirror in a pair of gray jeans, camel-colored boots, and the Christmas sweater Jade knitted me. Every second year she’d knit Levi and I matching sweaters.
“Aww, don’t you look cute,” Levi said as he stood beside me.
“Where does your mom find the time to knit these?” I looked at my red one and the blue one that he wore with a pair of black jeans and high-top Vans.
“I have no idea, but guess what? She made Uncle Griff one too.” He laughed.
“What color is his?” I chuckled as we walked downstairs.
“I don’t know, but since the both of us have elves on the front, he should be…” He trailed off.
“Santa!” I laughed. We walked in to see my dad and Richard in the living room. Dad stared at the Christmas tree that Levi and I decorated, and he instantly cursed under breath.
“You had to buy these ones?” Dad asked Levi as he pointed at the Christmas balls. Levi raised his thumb up as I squinted my eyes and looked at it. I let out a dry laugh as I read the green Christmas ball. Merry Fucking Christmas.
“Son,” Richard said as he got up from the sofa and gestured for Levi to follow him. Levi rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he followed. I gave Dad a questioning look, to which he shrugged. The doorbell rang, and my mother rushed into the living room with an apron on. She pushed a plate of cookies in my chest as I groaned.
“It’s Linda and her children. They’re doing Christmas carols. Give one to each,” she said. The oven went off, and she bolted back into the kitchen. I turned to Dad and noticed his stare on the tree.
“Who’s Linda?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I think she’s our neighbor.” He shrugged. It showed how much time we bonded with our current neighbors yet invited the ones we had from eight years ago. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Levi and Richard at the end of the hall. They seemed to be in an intense conversation since Richard had his arms folded as he scolded his son. Levi leaned against the wall with his arms folded, head thrown back, and eyes shut as he listened to his dad. The doorbell rang again, and I walked over with the plate of cookies. When I opened the door, I saw five children in front of me, and a woman who I assumed was Linda.
“Just like how we practiced, and no, Luke, you can’t rap,” Linda said. They sang “Silent Night,” and it was honestly the cutest thing ever. They were so short and adorable that I wanted to give the whole plate to them. Levi approached us, and I gave him a look that he ignored.
“Have a lovely Christmas,” Levi said after they finished. He took a cookie from the plate, and I smacked his hand away.
“Levi, it’s for them!” I moved the plate away from him and toward the children.
“Wait…Levi and Lana?” Linda asked as she pointed at us.
“Who wants to know?” Levi asked as he raised a brow at the woman.
“You two have grown so much! I still remember when you guys were little and used to take lemons from my tree,” she cooed.
“That’s because we started a lemon stand in the summer,” Levi stated.
“Aww, it’s so great that you two are finally together. I love the matching outfits.”
“Oh, we’re no—”
“Thank you, we just love spending Christmas together!” Levi cut me off as he slung an arm around my shoulder.
“Well, thank you and Happy Holidays!” Linda said, then grabbed a cookie.
“Merry Christmas!” the kids cheered. Levi and I said goodbye, then shut the door. I looked down and noticed the plate was empty.
“Who the fuck was that?” Levi asked.
“I think she’s our neighbor,” I stated, then walked into the dining room.
“Lana, set the table, please!” Mom yelled from the kitchen.
“Will do,” I said as I gave the plate to Levi. I walked into the dining area and noticed that the plates were stacked up along with everything else. I set on each of the eight table mats. I took out the glasses and put them out. The doorbell rang, and I saw Dad open it. He sounded happy, and there were a lot of voices to be heard. Once I was done, I walked into the living room to see Uncle Griff.
“Where’s your little lady friend?” Levi asked.
“She’ll be here soon.” He waved off then stared at Levi. “So how’s it being back in Illinois?”
“It’s cool, sometimes there are surprises, but it’s cool,” Levi responded. I gave them each a weird look as they stared at each other.
“Griffon, thanks for coming!” Mom beamed as she entered the room with Jade. Mom had a tray of finger food while Jade had a plate with wine.
“How was the football game?” Jade asked.
“It was gre—” Griffon cut off when Richard and Dad glared at him. “What football game?”
“Told you.” Mom laughed as I took a mini bread roll. Levi reached out to grab a glass of wine, but Jade smacked his hand away.
“Nice sweater, Uncle Griff, totally brings out your eyes,” Levi joked as we looked at the sweater Jade knitted him.
“Yeah, and yours totally brings out how little everyone thinks of you,” Uncle Griff pointed to the little elf. My jaw dropped as Levi’s jaw clenched. Griffon awkwardly laughed as everyone followed. By their odd stares, I knew something was up.
“Levi, could you please put these on the table? I know you got one,” Mom said as she held up the candles that needed to be lit. He smirked as he took the candles then walked to the table. I followed and watched as he lit each candle with his Zippo, then placed it on the table.
“Something’s wrong with Uncle Griff,” I mumbled as I stood opposite Levi.
“What makes you think that?” he asked.
“Well first, you guys didn’t do that weird handshake you always do, and second, he said ‘she.’ He always exaggerates about Jenny Rosa.” I looked over Levi’s shoulder to Uncle Griff, who smiled at my mom yet the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Or it was the look you gave each other?”
Levi looked over his shoulder to see Griffon, then turned back to face me. He forced a smile then said, “I think it’s the woman one.”
“Yes, I’ll be dishing up soon!” Mom said as she walked into the kitchen.
“I’ll help,” Griffon offered as he trailed behind her. I glanced back at Levi to see his squinted eyes. A few seconds later, my mother came out with salad and placed it on the table. Jade called her over as she walked to the kitchen but quickly spun around to join them in the living room. Levi and I shared a look, then went into the kitchen, where we found Griffon. His back was facing us as he leaned over the sink.
“She’s not coming, is she?” Levi asked as he sat by the island. Griffon spun around with a flustered look as he stared at us. He looked down and sighed.
“No, it’s not gonna work out between us.”
“What happened?” I asked as I rested my arm on Levi’s shoulder.
“Nothing, it’s just…we weren’t meant to be.”
“There’s plenty of fish in the sea, Uncle Griff. Any woman would want you,” Levi said.
“Yeah, I think I’ll lay off the whole dating thing for a while. Have to focus on my class, my family.” Griffon smiled. “I’ll always have you guys…unfortunately…but yeah, I’ll always have you two.”
“For that, we’ll always love you,” Levi said as I nodded in agreement. Uncle Griff laughed as he pulled us in for a hug.
***
Afterward, we ate the delicious food Mom and Jade made. When Levi and I spoke to Griffon in the kitchen a bit more, he was back to his old self.
“I don’t think they need babysitting. Well, Lana doesn’t. Don’t know about you, though.” Griffon pointed at Levi.
“I’ve matured!” Levi raised his arms in exasperation.
“Yeah right,” Dad, Richard, and I said in unison.
“Remember when I was babysitting you two and I brought that girl Samantha over and she wanted to watch Legally Blonde?” Griffon asked as Mom and Jade turned to him.
“You brought women to our house when you had to babysit them?” Jade asked.
“Yeah, Mom, we were like his wingmen,” Levi said as I laughed.
“That’s not the point!” Griffon rushed out. “As I was saying, these two watched that romantic comedy with us, and Levi kept asking why Lana wasn’t blonde.”
“Oh, I remember.” I glared at Levi.
“Then what?” Richard asked.
“Then he wanted to make me blonde, yet he didn’t know how, so he lit my hair on fire!” I said as everyone laughed.
“I was only ten!”
“I had a bald spot for four months!”
“I even offered to cut my hair to give to you.”
“Oh, you two.” Jade laughed.
“Then when Lana first mentioned Yale, you though it was some church group,” Griffon said. Everyone laughed as Levi shrugged.
“Speaking of colleges, I’ve heard you applied to a few here in Illinois, Lana,” Jade said.
“Have you heard from Yale yet?” Mom asked.
“No, I didn’t app—”
“Oh, since you were sending in applications to the other colleges, I sent one to Yale.”
“You what?” I demanded as I dropped my fork.
“Lana,” Dad warned, and I mumbled a sorry to Mom.
“Since you were sending in so many, I thought you forgot,” Mom said.
“I-I didn’t forget. I don’t even have all my results yet, Mom. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Don’t you wanna go?” Levi asked. When I looked at him, I felt as if he still blamed Benny.
“Every year we come you talk about it, Lana,” Richard said.
“Applications close the first of January, so I just assumed,” Mom mumbled.
“Don’t worry. As long as you’ve sent in an application, you can send the rest of the stuff in throughout January,” Griffon assured me.
“Yeah, Griffon can help you, and I’m sure your school has counselors,” Dad said as I stared at the table.
“Yeah, sorry.” I sighed, then continued to eat. After that, there was small talk between the adults. No one spoke to me as they decided to give me space. I felt Levi’s hand on my thigh, yet I instantly shrugged it off.
***
Christmas morning was spent opening gifts and finally having my cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I asked Mom and Dad if I could go to Ethan’s house to exchange gifts, and they were okay with it if I returned for lunch. So we sat in Ethan’s living room and swapped gifts. Aidan and Blake weren’t here because they were too busy with family. Liam insisted that we get into the Christmas spirit, so we had on Santa hats. Ethan got Miranda, Melissa, and me Nike Air Max Thea, and the guys got Adidas Zx Flux. Liam literally pecked him on the cheek and said that he was the real Santa.
“I know that you’ve been eyeing this for a while now.” I gave Melissa the bag she always looked at in the mall yet still debated on whether she should get it.
“Oh my god, Lana!” she cheered, then gave me a hug.
“Here’s your gift. That night of Homecoming you looked fabulous in heels, so…I got you these.” She gave me a shoebox. I opened it to see a pair of red ankle-strap heels.
“Wow, these are high, high heels.” I took one out and observed it.
“I know, right? You can wear it to the New Year’s Eve party.” She wiggled her brows.
“Party?”
“Yeah, it’
s your boyfriend’s turn to host,” Melissa said.
“Don’t you just love my boyfriend? He got me a Naked 3 Urban Decay kit!” Miranda squealed as she plopped down between us.
“I was going to get you two, but you’re already pretty so I didn’t want you looking prettier than me,” Melissa said as she looked at the kit.
“Wow, you’re a real friend,” I said as Miranda stared at her.
“Dude, no way!” Liam yelled. We turned our heads to see Liam with a piece of paper. Benny stood next to him with a grin plastered on his face.
“Yeah, so you’ll tone down on your addiction to the show,” Benny said as Liam smiled.
“Hug me, brotha!” he quoted from Drake and Josh. We watched in amusement as Liam literally picked up Benny as they hugged.
“What is it?” Miranda asked.
“Tickets to Comic Con, dude!” Liam jumped up like a five year old. He continued to cheer and boast about his tickets for the next five minutes. I stood up and walked over to Benny, then wrapped my arms around his waist.
“Merry Christmas…again.” I chuckled as I took out the envelope from my back pocket then handed it to him. He pecked my lips, then opened the envelope. I stepped back and eagerly bit my lip as I watched him open it. He read the tickets. His expression immediately changed as his eyes widened.
“No fucking way!” he exclaimed.
“What?” Ethan asked.
“Tickets to the Chicago Bulls versus Brooklyn Nets game on Wednesday,” Benny said, then looked at me. I wish I had my phone out to take a photo of his reaction. Ethan snatched the tickets, then observed while Benny pulled me in for a hug. “Shit. Thank you so much!” he said, then cupped my cheeks. He left a long, persistent kiss on my lips, then stared at me. “It must’ve cost a lot for those type of tickets.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I waved off then hugged him again.
“You want your gift?” he asked as he dragged me out of the room.
“Sure.” I shrugged and followed him into the hall. There was a table in the hall where I saw a medium-sized box. Benny took it and nervously handed it to me. I thanked him and took the lid off the box. There was another box inside that had images on it.
